A New Future
by Hatter-Break
Summary: When Jim meets Ophelia, a girl with an attitude the size of the Etherion, aboard the RLS Legacy, the two find themselves on the adventure of a lifetime, and discover things about themselves and their emotions, that change their future forever.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Treasure Planet or any of the characters. All rights belong to Disney.**

The green eyed brunette sighed as she walked up the stairs, blowing a strand of hair out of her face.

"I can't believe he made me swab the whole brig..." she muttered to herself, then looked around. "He made me miss the launch..." She went to cross the deck to return the mop and bucket to where they belonged, when she spotted an unfamiliar face, and one that was all too familiar.

"Cabin boys should learn to mind their own buisness." the large red, bug like alien, Scroop, hissed at a boy who appeared to be about her age. He swirled the mop he was holding across the deck a couple of times, then looked up at Scroop, a small smirk playing on his lips.

"Why, you got something to hide, bright eyes?" he retorted. The girl blinked, surprised that he had stood up to Scroop. The insect growled, and quickly lifted the boy off of the ground by the collar of his jacket. The brown haired boy grabbed Scroop's claw, trying to make him let go. Scroop brought the boy's face cenimeters from his own.

"Maybe your ears don't work so well." he said threateningly. The boy's face contorted into an expression of disgust, and he turned his head, coughing a little.

"Yeah, too bad my nose works just fine."

"Is he stupid?" the girl wondered quietly aloud.

"Why you impudent little..." Scroop growled again, and slammed the boy up against the mast. His face finally betrayed some of his fear, as he squirmed in the bug's claw. Scroop was strong, and his struggle was in vain, as Scroop pressed the tip of his free claw to the boy's throat. The girl's eyes widened, and dropping her bucket, she gripped her mop tightly in both of her hands, and ran at Scroop, swinging the mop.

"Let go of him!" she shouted as the mop hit the bug in the back. He quickly whipped around, slamming his free claw into the side of the girl's head, letting out a menacing hiss. She fell to the deck, and glared up into Scroop's large yellow eyes, a large swollen bruise already forming aross the side of her face.

"I'll take care of you later girl," he promised, then turned back to the boy. "Now, any last words, cabin boy?" he questioned. Before he could bring any harm to the boy, he was stopped yet again, this time by a metal clamp grabbing his arm.

"Mr. Scroop, have you ever seen what happens to fresh purp," the man, a Cyborg by the name of Silver, who also happend to be the ship's cook, took a bite of a juicy purp. "...when you squeeze real hard!' With that, he twisted Scroop's arm, and with a pained yowl, he dropped the boy onto the deck.

"What's all this then?" the first mate, Mr. Arrow, a man with a body of rock, questioned as he approached the scene. "You know the rules, there will be no brawling on this ship. Any further offenders will be confined to the brig for the remainder of the voyage." He stopped in front of Scroop. "Am I clear Mr. Scroop?" The bug sneered.

"Transparently," he said begrudgingly. Mr. Arrow walked away, and Scroop glared after him, then turned his hatred towards the girl, before storming off. The crowd of crew members that had gathered dispersed, and the boy got to his feet.

"Good job Mr. Arrow sir! A tight ship's a happy ship, sir!" Silver said, saluting after the first mate, then took up the mop and turned to the boy. "Jimbo, I gave you a job!"

"Hey, I was doing it until that bug thing-" he started to argue before getting cut off.

"Belay that!" Silver shoved the mop into the boy's hand. "Now, I want this deck swabbed spotless, and heaven help ya if I come back and it's not done..." The cyborg glanced at the small pink blob that was floating beside his head. "Morph, keep an eye on this pup, and let me know if there be any more distractions." He stalked away towards the galley, and the boy sighed, as Morph stared at him with enlarged eyes. He rested the mop against the mast, and walked over to the girl, kneeling in front of her. He held out a hand.

"Here, are you alright?" She pushed his hand away.

"I'm fine, I can get up on my own," she grumbbled, and stood, rubbing her swollen cheek with a grimace. "What were you thinking, challenging him like that?" she demanded. He shrugged.

"I-I don't know, I just-"

"Whatever," she said with a huff, then held out a hand. "The name's Ophelia, Ophelia Hayle."

"Uh, Jim Hawkins..." the boy said, cautiously scruitinizing the girl before taking her hand and shaking it. Jim noticed that she had several bruises along her arms, legs, and slightly exposed midrift that were similar to the one that had just developed on her face. He scratched the back of his head. "Hey, um...thanks for trying to help." Ophelia raised an eyebrow, and examined Jim. He stared back at her with clear blue eyes. After a moment she shrugged.

"Look, just...don't mess with Scroop if you know what's good for you," she said quickly, her eyes momentarily flashing with something that Jim couldn't quite put his finger on. He nodded, and Ophelia bent down to pick up her mop, then walked over and grabbed her bucket. She was about to start down the stairs to put the cleaning implements away, but she then stopped, and turned to Jim, who had begun mopping. "Hey Jim." He looked up.

"Yeah?" She smiled.

"Need some help?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Treasure Planet or any of the characters. All rights belong to Disney.**

"So, baisically you're on this voyage because you want to make up for the trouble you've caused for your mother?" Ophelia asked, leaning against her mop as Jim finished telling her about himself. He nodded.

"Yeah, that's about right," he said with a nod. Ophelia giggled a little, and Jim raised an eyebrow. "What's so funny?"

"You're a mama's boy!" she exclaimed with a burst of laughter.

"Hey! I am not!" Jim said, taking a jab at her with his mop. She pushed it away, still smiling.

"Don't touch me with that disgusting thing!"

"Then don't call me a mama's boy!" They both laughed.

"Alright, alright, don't get so touchy, I was just kidding." Jim figured that that would be the closest thing he would get to an apology, so he took it.

"So uh, what about you? What's your story?" He asked, motioning to her with his head. "Why is a girl like you stuck on this ship as a cabin girl for the bug monster?" Ophelia scowled at him.

"What do you mean a girl like me?" she asked indignantly. "I'm just as capeable on this ship as you are!" Jim held up a hand.

"Sorry, sorry. That's not really what I meant, I just mean...most girls our age would have no interest in working on a ship like this," he explained.

"Well, I'm not most girls," she grumbled, turning her back to him, and continuing to mop again. "As for the reason for being in Scroop's charge, well...I..." She sighed. "I was, well, I would have been a stowaway on a ship a couple of years ago, but...he discovered me. He was just going to kill me right there, but Silver wouldn't allow it. In exchange for my life, I have to work under Scroop." Jim was quiet for a moment, the only noise being a small chirrup from Morph, who had been hovering around them all day.

"A stowaway huh? How come, did you run away from home?" Jim pried, the slightest bit of concern evident in his voice. Ophelia scoffed.

"I wish that was all it was...my parents were both arrested and hung as pirates when I was little, I've been on my own ever since..."

"I'm sorry..." Jim said, not quite sure how to react.

"Look, I don't need your sympathy," she snapped, throwing her mop to the deck, and leaning against the rail, glowering at Jim, her back to the vast, starry expanse of space. All was silent as Jim slowly continued to mop. Then he sighed.

"Well, this has been a fun day, huh?" he finally asked in an attempt to break the tension. "Making new friends," he continued sarcastically. Ophelia raised an eyebrow. "Like that spider psycho." He wiggled his fingers in imitation of an insect. Ophelia smiled slightly.

"Spider psycho, spider psycho!" Morph repeated, transforming into a miniature look a like of Scroop. Ophelia bit her lip trying to keep her straight face. Jim glanced at her with a smirk, knowing that with one more little push he could have her foul mood turned around.

"A little uglier," he suggested to Morph. The little blob thought for a moment, then morphed into a Scroop with exagerated, deformed features, letting out a mocking evil laugh. Jim laughed, and unable to take it, Ophelia gave up, and laughed as well. "Pretty close," Jim complimented.

"Good job Morphy," Ophelia said, still chuckling. Suddenly they heard uneven footsteps coming up the stairs from the galley.

" Well, thank heavens for little miracles! The two of you up here for an hour, and the deck is still in one piece!" Silver walked up with a large pot of garbage, and food scraps. "It's good to see the two of ya have been bonding," he said, going over to the railing, and dumping the trash over the side of the ship. Morph panted excitedly and followed the scraps down. "By the way Ophelia, Scroop was looking for ya." Her smile faded, and she began to chew on her bottom lip.

"Oh, he was..." Silver nodded.

"I wouldn't keep him waiting too long lass. He's down in the docking bay." She sighed, and pushed herself off from the rail. She started towards the stairs.

"Thanks Silver. You too Jim, I appreciate the laugh. See you later tonight." He waved.

"Talk to you later." She hesitantly slumped away, hearing Jim begin to thank Silver for his help earlier. Ophelia made her way to the docking bay to find her cruel crewmate.

"S-Scroop?" she asked nervously. There was a thud as he dropped from the cealing to the boards in front of her. A growl rumbled in his throat, and his claw latched tightly to her wrist. She whimpered in pain, and looked up at him with wide, fearful eyes.

"You insignificant little girl!" he snapped. "Who do you think you are?"

"I-I, he, I jus-"

"Shut up! You are nothing! If you ever have the nerve to pull a stunt like that again, I will do what should have been done a long time ago! Understood?" Ophelia nodded, tears welling in her eyes. "What was that?" he snarled, tightening his claw around her wrist, lines of crimson begining to form around the edges of his claw.

"Y-yes sir." He threw her to the ground, and left. She sat there for a moment, trying to regain her composure, then she headed towards the sleeping quarters. She laid down in her hammock, and stared at the the one above her.

"Ophelia, is that you? Are you alright? He wasn't too hard on you was he?" She quickly wiped her eyes as she realized that Jim was the one bombardng her with questions from the bunk beside hers.

"Oh, Jim. Y-yeah, I'm fine. I just uh...have some extra cleaning duties is all." she said, quickly making something up.

"Alright," he said, somewhat sceptical due to the tone in her voice, but he continued on. "I'll help you out with the cleaning, it is mostly my fault after all."

"I don't need your he-" She stopped herself, not wanting to take out her frusterations on Jim, who was just trying to help. "Thanks Jim...I appreciate it," she corrected.

"Don't mention it," he said, a smile audible in his voice. "Night." She smiled.

"Night." With that, she rolled over, and fell into an uneasy sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Treasure Planet or any of the characters. All rights belong to Disney.**

Ophelia woke with a small groan, and sat up. She examined her sore wrist with a grimace. The wounds were now infected, and somewhat swollen. She let her arm fall to her side, as she sighed, and stood. Ophelia made her way to the galley, where she began to sort and clean the mountain of dirty dishes that the crew had managed to pile up.

"Ah, up bright and early, are ya lass?" She turned, and saw Silver approaching her. She nodded.

"Yeah, I couldn't sleep," she said simply. The cyborg raised a curious eyebrow.

"Is that so?" Then a concerned frown appeared on his lips. "Are ya alright Ophelia?" She bit her lip, and reluctantly held out her wrist. Silver looked it over for a moment, then sighed. "Tell ya what. I'll start breakfast, and you can go bandage that up and wake Jimbo up to help you with these here dishes." She nodded, and headed back to the sleeping quarters. She rummaged through the pile of bags and junk that rested against the side wall until she found a decent length of cloth that she wrapped around her infected wrist.

"Wakey wakey sunshine," she said, unenthusiastically, as she walked over to Jim's sleeping form, curled up in his hammock. She chuckled to herself, seeing that he was stuck on a bunk with Snuff. "Hey, Jim, get up," she ordered, shaking him by the shoulder. He mummbled softly, and incoherantly, before rolling from his side to his back, and rubbing his face. His lids fluttered open, and he stared blankly at Ophelia, his blue eyes glazed over with sleep.

"Wh-what is it?" She smirked.

"You aren't used to early mornings, are you sleeping beauty? It's time to get up, we have dishes to do." He grunted, and reached lazily for his boots. "You're gonna have to get used to an early schedule," she said, as Jim pulled his boots on.

"Fun," he grumbbled. Ophelia laughed, and the two of them went to the galley, where SIlver was cooking something that smelled delicious. Silver said good morning, and the teens began to tackle the mound of plates, pots, bowls, and cups. Jim muttered to himself as he scrubbed the grime out of a large pot. He realized that he had agreed to help Ophelia, but she hadn't warned him just how early she would be waking him up to do so. He glanced over at the green eyed girl, who was busily scrubbing a plate that was caked in grease, her tongue sticking out slightly between her lips as she concentrated. He noticed her wincing every once in a while, then realized that one of her wrists was wrapped in a piece of cloth that he hadn't noticed the day before. She glanced up quickly, then back at the plate, then back up.

"What?" she asked. Jim realized that he had stopped scrubbing, and was now just standing there, staring at her dumbly. He shook his head, and looked down at the pot, starting to clean again.

"Oh, I uh...nothing, I just noticed your wrist. Did something happen?" She looked at her wrist, and laughed.

"Oh, this thing? It's just an old cut that I never bothered to unbandage," she explained quickly. Jim raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, okay then," he said, dismissing his curiosity for the time being.

"So Jim, did you sleep well last night, with it being your first night on a ship, I would assume not," Ophelia inquired, moving on to a small mug. He shook his head.

"Well you assumed right."

"It won't be like that for long Jimbo! I'll be working you so hard, you'll welcome that bunk at the end of the day," Silver promised, walking over with a large pot of whatever he had made for breakfast.

"Oh, I can't wait," Jim said, rolling his eyes. Silver and Ophelia both laughed.

"Now..." Silver made two plates of food, and held them out to the two teens. "You two take these up to the Captain and , and then you can come and get yours." They each took a plate in their hands, and headed up to the deck. Ophelia led the way to the Captain's quarters, and knocked on the wooden door.

"Captain Amelia!" A moment passed, and the door opened. There stood a tall, slender cat like woman in a blue captain's get up. Everything about her, from her posture to her facial expression to the glint in her green eyes, exuded confidence, elegance, and a firm command.

"Ah, Miss Hayle, Mr. Hawkins, what can I do for you?" she asked, her voice smooth and assertive. Ophelia held the plate out.

"Breakfast is served Ma'am."

"I have 's breakfast here," Jim added, holding his plate out as well. Her lips curved into a small, dignified smile.

"Thank you, both of you. Please do give my thanks to Mr. Silver," she said, taking the plates.

"Yes Ma'am," they responded in unison. When they returned to the galley, Silver had already prepared two plates of a nice hot breakfast for them. They ate quietly, enjoying the food, before they were to be sent off to work. Morph tried several times to take their food, but failed each time.

"Alright you two, morning rest is over. Jimbo, you and I are going to go down and scrape the blasted spacial barnacles off of the bottom of the boat. Ophelia lass, you're to go see what Scroop needs ya to do."

"Yes sir," she said with a sigh. "Catch ya later Jim."

"See ya Ophelia." Jim watched as she left, not envying the fact that she was stuck with Scroop. She made her way to the deck, a slight pouting frown on her lips.

"There you are you useless brat," Scroop snapped when he spotted her.

"Look, can we skip the insults today, and just get to what I need to do?" she asked flatly in an attempt to copy Jim's courage from the day before, though, her heart pounded, not knowing how the bug would take being spoken to in such a way. His eyes narrowed to slits.

"Don't get snarky with me girl," he warned. "Now, you're to clean the crow's nest, and once you're done, check all of the sails, ropes, and controls, and fix any problems." She looked defiantly up at him, but didn't argue her chores. As Jim and Silver walked to the scaffolding on the side of the deck, Jim noticed Ophelia, glaring at Scroop with her emerald eyes.

"She must not be as afraid of him as she seems..." he noted to himself. Ophelia's gaze quickly focused on Jim, and she flashed a small smile, before turning back to Scroop, who shoved a scrubbing brush into her hands. The hours passed miserably, and excrutiatingly slow for both Jim and Ophelia as they both carried out the tasks they were told to complete. Ophelia grimmaced in pain. Not only had the vigerous scrubbing left her hands blistered, the soapy water had soaked the cloth wrapped around her wrist, causing the infected wound to sting terribly. Jim's arm muscles were sore from the strain of scrapping the well attatched barnacles from the sides of the ship, and his hands were left raw from them constantly slipping on the handle of the tool.

"How's it going down there?" Ophelia asked, leaning over the railing of the ship, looking down at Jim. He forced a barnacle from the hull with a grunt before glancing up at her. His eyelids drooped over his blue orbs with irritation, and he blew a strand of brown hair from his face.

"I'm having the time of my life. Don't you have your own things to worry about?" She smiled, and shook her head.

"Nope, I just finished," she said smuggly. Jim sighed, and removed a few more barnacles, while Ophelia just quietly watched. The space around them was begining to glow with fiery reds, soft oranges, and golden yellows, signifiying the end of the day.

"Alright lad, why don' ya call it a day. You can finish up the rest tomorrow. What say the three of us head up to one of the wings, and I can teach ya to tie a proper knot," Silver offered. Jim let out a relieved breath, and wiped his brow, before hauling the scaffolding back up to the deck. The sky became a dark blue, and the stars shone brighter than they had during the day. "You two stay here," Silver ordered once they were up in one of the wings beside the wheel. "I'll go get some ropes."

"So, long day Jim?" Ophelia asked after a while. He nodded.

"Very. You?" She shook her head.

"Nah, not really, I'm used to this kind of work. Though my hands are sore," she stated.

"Your hands? My arms are burning!" Ophelia chuckled. "Hey, why don't you take the bandage off now," Jim suggested after a moment of silence.

"Um...I'd rather not." He grabbed her wrist.

"Come on, this thing is going to get dirty, and get you sick," he said, starting to unwrap it.

"No Jim, stop it!" she tried to wrest her arm from his grasp, but couldn't. "I said-" He had the cloth off and was now staring at the swollen injury with a furrowed brow.

"Ophelia, you said this happened a while ago! What happened?" She tore her wrist from his hand and glared at him.

"It's none of your buisness, okay?" She stood, and snatched the cloth from his hand. "I told you to leave it," she snapped, then turned and stormed down the steps, passing by Silver, who followed her with confused eyes, then turning, and giving Jim a questioning look. Jim stared after her, his mouth slightly agape.

"What happened lad?" Silver questioned. Jim closed his mouth, and his lips curled down with displeasure.

"I have no idea," he said moodily. "Looks like I've screwed up yet again..." he added with a grumble. He watched with little intrest as the cyborg showed him how to tie a knot that he already knew how to tie, then turned his attention to the stars above him, a sigh escaping his lips, and a scowl adorning his features. He didn't know whether or not to be angry with Ophelia or concerned about her. Finally, he tied his rope into the knot that Silver was explaining, and without a sound, descended the stairs, leaving Silver to teach without a student, while he walked slowly along the railing of the Legacy.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Treasure Planet or any of the characters. All rights belong to Disney.**

Ophelia sat up in the shrouds, arms crossed, looking out at the stars with a scowl.

"That stupid idiot..." Morph floated around her head, and rubbed against her cheek. She patted his head, and he cooed softly. "Don't go trying to soften me up now," she said. "He should have listened to me." Morph stopped, and stared at her, blinking. "What? That was my buisness, he had no right to go and-" With a little squeak, he flew downwards. Ophelia followed him with her eyes, and saw that he had flown to Jim, who was walking, well balanced, across the railing of the ship. Morph gave him a couple of affectionate licks, and Jim gave the blob a small smile, petting him with a finger. Her blazing emerald eyes softened for a moment, before she looked away with a huff.

"Hey there Morph," Jim said with a small chuckle as the small pink creature greeted him. Morph motioned upwards, so Jim lifted his head. In the shrouds of the ship, he saw Ophelia sitting, arms crossed, and a hardened look on her face. Jim scowled for a moment, but then noticed something, and his expression softened as he sighed. She reminded him of himself, alone, and thrown to the side. "I should probably leave her alone for now," he stated to Morph, and continued walking.

"Morph?" Ophelia questioned the next morning, as she felt something tickling her face. She opened her eyes to see Morph hovering over her, and Silver standing beside her bunk.

"Good morning lass, what say you wake Jimbo up, and you can help him to finsh scrapping off the rest of the barnacles." She scoffed, and her lips curled in a sneer.

"No thanks. I'm fine with scrapping off the barnacles, but I'm not waking him up. I can do it on my own." Silver gave her a doubtful look.

"Fine, you go get started, and I'll wake him, and send him out later," he bargained. She sighed.

"Whatever." She got up, ate a quick breakfast of leftovers from breakfast the day before, and went down on the scaffolding. After having removed a good dozen of barnacles, she heard another scaffolding descending.

"Morning." She ignored Jim, and continued prying the barnacles off. She heard the boy sigh, as he began to work as well.

"Look, Ophelia, I-" He tried again, but was cut off by a harsh look that she shot him. She glared for a moment, then returned her attention to he barnacle infested hull. He sighed again, prepared to try one more time to get through to her.

"I'm sorry I-" She whipped her head in his direction, her brown bangs hanging in her eyes giving her a threatening appearance.

"Look, just leave me alone Jim, got it?" she snapped. He shrunk back, still not quite sure why such a little thing had set her off so much. The barnacles took them the rest of the day to finish removing. It was a day that was spent in an uncomfortable silence, other than strained grunts from Jim, and frusterated huffs from Ophelia. By the end of the day, they both had sour moods, accompanied by blistered, and slightly bloody hands. Once back on the deck, they gave eachother a look. Jim opened his mouth as if to say something, but changed his mind. Without a word, they went seperate ways for the night. Jim disappeared into the galley for a much welcomed dinner, while Ophelia retired to her hammock without a meal.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Treasure Planet or any of the characters. All rights belong to Disney.**

The next morning started much like the previous night had ended. Ophelia sat in the galley, eating breakfast, when Jim walked in. They looked at eachother for a moment, words stuck on Jim's tongue, however, based on her expression, he thought it best that they stay there. He sat across the table from her, and lowered his head as as he ate. Ophelia was sure to keep her gaze averted from him. Silver stood over the two, his eyes flashed from one brooding teen to the other, and he then let out a sigh.

"Alright Jimbo, hate to tear you away from yer, um...delightful conversation." At this remark, Silver recived a small growl from Ophelia, who curled the corner of her lip. "Well, uh, time for you to get to work. Follow me up to the deck," Silver said, continuing on awkwardly. Jim let out a sigh, and gave a small nod, before getting up, and following Silver out of the galley. Ophelia got up moments later with a sigh, and, after washing her plate, headed up to the deck of the ship, where she was to mop the area around the wheel, and then scrub it down. She found herself a mop and bucket, and began to lazily swab the area of the deck around the wheel. Though the task was small, and simple, Ophelia hated it. The only reason she had to do it was because Scroop wanted to give her busy work. The entire deck had been swabbed by another crew member the day before, so her doing it now was unnecessary.

"Why should I even be doing this?" she grummbled to herself, then stopped, and blinked. "Why am I doing this?" she realized. "If Scroop wants this done, he can do it himself," Ophelia decided defiantly, dropping the mop, and heading down to the docking bay to do work that she found more interesting. Jim knelt on the deck, scrubbing the wood hard with the brush, slipping every once and a while in the suds, and the water soaking through the old cleaning apron, and his pants to his knees. He heard footsteps stomping past him, and looked up, thinking that it might be Silver. Instead he saw Ophelia, hurrying towards the docking bay. He raised a confused eyebrow, and sat up. He was sure she had chores to do up on the deck.

"Ophelia, where are you going? What about Scroop?" Jim questioned, hoping that she would answer him. Instead she just cast a quick glance back at him, and, still ignoring his question, continued. Jim let out an exhasperated breath, and rolled his eyes before kneeling back down to continue cleaning. "Whatever..."

"He just doesn't get it, does he Morph?" Ophelia asked the little blob as she examined the engines of one of the longboats. Several of the crew memebers had had some complaints of the skiff not starting correctly, and she had been wanting the opportunity to check it out. Morph chattered a little in resoponse to her question. "I mean, why does he think he has any rights to any of my buisness? It's not like we've known eachother all that long."

"Not long!" Morph repeated. Ophelia chuckled a little, not able to stay in a bad mood with the little creature hovering around.

"Ah! Here, the cable's loose, that's all!" she exclaimed, pleased with herself for finding the problem. "Hey Morph, can you go check that corner for my tools?" She said, nodding to a corner where spare ropes and sails were piled up. Morph flew over and began to search through the pile. He floated back towards her, letting out a small noise, and shaking his head. "No? Then they must be in the sleeping quarters. I'll be right back." She got up, and made her way to the crew's quarters, where she began rummaging through the mess of stuff. She found the tool she needed, and headed back to the longboat. "Alright Morph, where...was...I?" Instead of the small pink blob, there stood a scowling Scroop.

"What are you doing girl?" he hissed, spitting out each word.

"I-I was just working on the-"

"You were given work to do!" he snapped, cutting her off.

"But-"

"No buts!" He grabbed her by the wrist, splitting the infected wound once more, and began to drag her back to the deck. He dragged her back towards the wheel. "You useless girl!" he growled, before throwing her to the deck. "Get up!" he demanded. She stood shakily, eyes watering. He brought his face an inch from hers. "You aren't fooling anybody. You may act like a rebelious little brat, but I know you are nothing but an insignifcant, weak little girl. Now..." He backed away, and grabbed the mop. "Get to work!" He shoved the mop into her hands, forcing her to take a couple of steps back. He stormed away after giving her one last growl. For a moment Ophelia just stood there, but she then gave in, fell to her knees, and broke down in a cascade of tears.

"Jim! You missed a spot boy!" Silver pointed out as he stood over Jim with a new bucket. Jim looked, and saw nothing. He stood, puffing out his chest, and scowled defiantly at Silver.

"No I didn't!" he argued. Silver shoved the bucket into his hands, and pointed at the deck.

"Then you didn't do a very good job there. Now get to work," he ordered, and walked away. Jim huffed, and turned, dumping the bucket where Silver had pointed. He got back down on the deck, and began to scrub. As he wroked, he heard the sound of Scroop's many legs coming across the deck quickly, and the sound of feet dragging behind him. Curious, he looked up. He let out a small gasp when he saw that Scroop was dragging Ophelia across the deck roughly. He heard her let out a couple of wimpers as they passed. He watched as Scroop brought her to the wheel, and threw her to deck. He was saying something, but Jim couldn't hear him. He watched as she stood, and Scroop put his face in hers. When he backed away from her, he picked up a mop, and forced it into her hands. The force was enough to make her back up. Finally, he walked away from her, leaving her to collapse to her knees. Jim could see her shoulders shaking, a sign that she was sobbing.

"Ophelia..." he murmered. Jim blinked. Seeing her in tears made him realize something. Her sharp attitude and sometimes harsh behavior was an armor, a facade. She used that to protect herself from Scroop's cruelty. Jim realized that she was truely sensitive if pushed far enough. "She's not angry with me..." he said to himself. "She's afraid." She didn't want any weakness to be known to others, so in making her show him her injured wrist, he realized with guilt, not only had he broken her barrier, he had forced himslef inside. He clenched his fists, looked at her for a moment, then reluctantly returned to his work. They both worked worked hard all day, until the fiery light of the evening sky faded to a deep, dark blue littered with bright stars. Ophelia stood on the deck, leaning against the rail, staring up at the stars with big green eyes.

"Scoop's right...I'm just a weak child..." she said scornfully to herself.

"Ophelia?' She turned at the sound of her name, and saw Jim, his blue eyes bright with concern. She turned her back to him to face the stars again. He sighed. "Look, I know you don't want to listen to me, but...I'm sorry, I didn't realize...I saw what happened between you and Scroop today, and that made me understand. To you, that injury is a weakness, and it scares you to think that I know a weakness of yours. I just..." he sighed again. "I don't think you're weak. Going through the things that you have...not many people could." Ophelia bit her bottom lip, and turned, mouth open to say something, but Jim was already walking away. She sighed as she watched after him. Once he had disappeared into the sleeping quarters, she turned back to watching the galaxy pass by.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Treasure Planet or any of the Characters. All rights belong to Disney.**

Ophelia was sure to get up early the next morning to finish the repairs on the longboat that she had wanted to do the day before. The repairs were a cakewalk for her, and she finished quickly. She got up, threw the tools to the corner, and headed to the galley for breakfast. On her way down the stairs, she passed Jim, who was on his way up for his daily chores. They glanced at eachother for a brief moment, but, though she wanted to, she could not bring herself to smile at him.

"Ah, Ophelia, there ya are. Yer breakfast was startin' to get cold," SIlver said as he washed dishes. She sat at the table with a tired sigh.

"I Was fixing that longboat's engine," she said, then took a bite.

"Ah. were ya now? Well, do ya think ya could do me a favor and wash the hammocks today?" She shrugged.

"Sure, why not?" she mummbled after she swallowed her bite of food.

"Thanks lass." She finished the rest of her breakfast quietly, and went back down to the crew's quarters. Morph followed her down, and she gave the little blob an amused glance. She began to untie all of the hammocks, one by one, and carry them up to the deck. Once they were all up top, she spread them out so they could be cleaned. She got buckets and filled them to the brim with soapy water. She dumped one bucket on each of the hammocks, and, using a scrub brush, began to scrub the dirt off of each one. This tedious job took hours for her to finish, and she took breaks in between to rest her tired arms, and get lunch. Once they were all scrubbed down, she let them dry, before tying them all back to the poles in the leeping quarters. This was an all day task that Ophelia rather enjoyed. It meant that she didn't have to deal with Scroop. As she hung the final hammock, she stood at the base of the stairs and admired her handy work. It had certainly helped with the smell, she noticed, though it wasn't much of an improvement.

"A job well done, wouldn't you say Morph?" He chirrupped. Suddenly she heard footsteps coming down the stairs behind her, and turned to see who it was. When Jim saw Ophelia standing at the base of the stairs, he stopped in his tracks. Their eyes met, and they stood there, staring at eachother for a moment, before Jim turned on his heels, and ran back up to the deck. "Wait!" She ran up the stairs after him, and looked around the deck, not seeing him. She headed down to the galley, and saw Silver. "Do you know where Jim is?" The cyborg smiled.

"Ah, Jimbo? He's not here, maybe the shrouds?" he suggested. Ophelia nodded.

"Thanks." She went back to the deck, and on her way to check the shrouds, she noticed a figure on the bowsprit. She changed her direction, and headed towards the bowsprit. She leaned against the railing of the ship, and looked up at Jim. He was staring at the stars, a sad expression on his face. "Be careful not to fall off," Ophelia warned quietly, the first words she had spoken, rather snapped at Jim. He turned with a start, and gave her a somwhat surprised look. She sighed. "D-do you want to join me in the shrouds?" she asked, her eyes looking at her feet, unsure if he would be willing to talk to her after how she had treated him. He smiled, his blue eyes lighting u.

"Sure." Ophelia lifted her eyes to look at him, and returned the smile. Jim scrambled down off of the the bowsprit, and the two teens made their way to the shrouds, climbing as high as they could get, and still sit comfortably. They sat side by side, the only thing passing beween them being a content, yet unsure silence, but that was soon gone.

"So, uh, Jim...I..." Ophelia scratched the back of her head. "I...I shouldn't have...you were just..." She sighed. "I guess I just want you to know I'm sorry. I-I overreacted. I suppose I should have just told you the truth." Jim chuckled.

"You don't need to apologize. Like I said last night, I know I scared you, and I know I pushed boundries that I shouldn't have," he explained. Ophelia frowned, and Jim smirked. "Besides, I don't care if you blame it on me. The blame always fell on me at home, why make it any different here?" he asked with a small laugh, thinking of the trouble he had gotten in to on Montressor. Ophelia gave a small smile.

"You're the only one on this boat who might come close to understanding, and I tried to push you away. I mean, I have Morph, but, lets face it, he probably doesn't understand half of what we say to him." As if on que, the little pink blob found them, and hovered around their heads, peeping, and chattering, rubbing against their cheeks. They both laughed, then, with a sigh, they both calmed down, and stared out at the stars for a while.

"Jim," Ophelia said, looking at him out of the corner of her eyes, which sparkled like emeralds. He raised an eyebrow, and looked at her with similarly sparkling blue eyes.

"Hm?"

"Thanks." He smiled, and shrugged.

"No big deal." He smirked, and folded his arms under his head.

"Don't go getting a big head now," she laughed, jabbing him with a finger. He laughed.

"So uh...Ophelia...do you think I could check that injury of yours now?" he asked tentatively, not wanting her to withdraw again. She looked at him, her brow furrowed with apprehension as she chewed on her bottom lip. Jim's eyes widened pleadingly. She hesitantly held out her injured wrist. Jim smiled, and gingerly grabbed her wrist to examine the swollen wound. He raised his eyes, which were clouded with concern. "Was this reinjured since I saw it?"

"Well...yes..." He looked back at the lacerations, tracing them with his finger, barely brushing her skin. Ophelia clenched her fist, but didn't pull away. Jim's eye wandered up her arm, taking note of every faint scar that he hadn't noticed before. Abruptly, he dropped her arm, and grabbed the other one. He ran the tip of his fingers delicately up her other arm, again spotting the subtle imperfections that ran across her skin, ghostly memories of past traumas.

"Ophelia..." He looked up at her with a grave visage. "This, on your wrist, it wasn't an accident, was it?" She slowly shook her head. "And these." He grabbed both of her arms. "These were no accidents either?"

"No..." Jim sighed.

"No wonder you've built up such a wall...Scroop has forced you to." Ophelia nodded, eyes watering. Jim sighed, not quite sure how to handle the tears. "Maybe we should head to bed for the night," he suggested.

"Alright," she agreed. The two of them headed down from the shrouds to the deck. Jim hopped down first, then turned to help Ophelia. She landed on the deck without a problem. Jim was about to turn, and head for the crew's quarters, when, without warning, Ophelia threw her arms around his waist, and burried her face in his chest. Jim's eyes widened for a moment, but then he relaxed, and hugged her back. Ophelia relished, and savoured his warmth. It was the first time she could ever remember feeling safe with anybody. After a long moment, she pulled away, and without more than a meeting of eyes, they headed down to their bunks, and fell into a comfortable sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Treasure Planet or any of the characters. All rights belong to Disney. I do not own the song "I'm Still Here". Rights belong to John Rzeznik.**

Ophelia looked at Morph, a mischevious glint in her viridian eyes.

"Ready?" she asked with a smirk. Morph nodded excitedly, panting. Quietly, Ophelia took hold of Jim's hammock. The boy was still sleeping, curled up under his jacket, which he was using as a blanket. She gently began to rock the hammock. "Alright. One...two...three!" On the third swing, she pulled back, and shoved the hammock as hard as she could manage. With a yelp, Jim was thrown out of his slumber, and onto the unwelcome wooden boards of the ship. He groaned, and rubbed his now sore head, then shot Ophelia a look that was meant to appear resentful, however, he was too tired for it to seem sincere. Ophelia burst into a bout of laughter, clutching her sides.

"Alright, alright, shut up already." Jim yawned. "It's too early." Slowly, Ophelia regained her composure, and smiled at Jim.

"Ready for another day?" she asked, nodding at the stairs with a grin. Jim got to his feet, and tucked his shirt into pants, then grabbed his boots. He gave a lazy, half-hearted salute.

"Yes sir," he mumbled. Ophelia raised an eyebrow. Jim shook his head. "Ma'am, I mean ma'am." Ophelia giggled.

"How about just trying Ophelia, you know, my name?" she suggested, a hint of sarcasm in her voice. Jim chuckled, and they headed up the stairs, and to the galley. Sitting down on one of the benches, Jim pulled his boots on. They helped themselves to breakfast, and relaxed, waiting for Silver to tell them what needed to be done. Footsteps echoed as they descended down the stairs. They turned, and Ophelia's heart sank at the sight of large yellow eyes framed by a sharp red face.

"What are you doing down here you lazy girl? You have work to do! Now, get to it!" he demanded. Jim glared at Scroop.

"She's not being lazy. If you want the work done, maybe you should just do it yourself."

"Stay out of this cabin boy!" Scroop spat with distaste.

"Mr. Scroop. I was thinking of givin' the two of 'em the day off, they've been working hard." Silver was coming down the stairs behind Scroop. "I mean, Jimbo's hands have been rubbed raw, and just look at those gashes on the lass's wrist. I think she got those from helpin' me to cut the vegetables." Scroop's lip curled, but he didn't argure. He and Silver both knew what the gashes were really from, and Scroop knew that Silver's wrath could be merciless. Without another word, Scroop grabbed his breakfast, and left the galley, defeated. Ophelia looked at Silver gratefully.

"Thank you so much Silver!'

"Don't mention it lass," he said getting to work on a breakfast for the captain, Mr. Arrow, and Dr. Delbert. "Now, after the two of yas take this here food to the Captain's quarters, Ophelia, why don't you take Jim down, and use the day to show him the inner workings of the skiffs. I can show him how to fly 'em some other day." Ophelia nodded agreeably, and Jim's features brightened with excitement at the prospect of getting to work with the longboats. Jim and Ophelia waited patiently for Silver to finish preparing the plates for the three higher ups on the ship. He finished fairly quickly with the aid from his cyborg arm, humming and whistling light hearted tunes all the while. He made up the plates, and handed two of them to Ophelia, and the remaining one to Jim. "Here ya are. You two enjoy yerselves. It's good to see ya talkin' again," he said with his crooked grin. They returned the smile, and headed up to the deck. The air was cooler than it had been since the voyage had begun, and a thin layer of mist snkaed across the deckin tendrils. Ophelia shook with an involuntary shiver.

"It's cold today..." she said, her tone laced with a slight whine. Jim shrugged.

"Could be worse." Ophelia shot him a mocking scowl, and he chuckled. They delivered breakfast, and eagerly made their way to the docking bay, where the air was even more saturated with fog, and the nipping chill permiated their clothing with ease. Jim found it easy to ignore, Ophelia, however, didn't enjoy the cold biting at, and numbing her fingers and toes. She shivered again, her lips forming a small, pouting frown. Jim glanced at her with amusement, and pulled his brown jacket off, holding it out to her. "Here," he offered. She looked at him and blinked.

"Are you sure? Won't you be cold?" He shook his head.

"I'll be fine," he assured her. SHe happily grabbed the jacket, and pulled it on, welcoming the protection from the chilly air.

"Now," she started, making her way to one of the skiffs. She fiddled with the engine until it opened up, exposing its complex inner workings. She pointed at a small glowing sphere that was just millimeters from a thin metal rod. "This is-"

"The system that sparks the boosters," Jim interrupted.

"Excuse me, I think I'm the teacher here. Now, this is-"

"The spring mechenism that lifts the sails," Jim finished smugly.

"Stop that!" Ophelia snapped. "Here we have-"

"The coolant that prevents the solar energy collected from overheating the entire engine." With an irritated huff, Ophelia blew a strand of hair from her face.

"Alright mister know it all, should I even bother trying to continue?" Jim shrugged.

"Probably not." Ophelia sighed and plopped down against the side of the boat. "Sorry," Jim said with a chuckle, as he plopped down across from her.

"No big deal. How did you get to be so machine savvy?" A reminiscant expression washed over his features.

"Back on montressor, I rode my solar surfer every day. I built it myself, repaired it myself, and then... I uh, managed to get it confescated." Ophelia nodded.

"Oh right, you told me that you had gotten it impounded by the cop bots, but you never told me you had made it yourself." He nodded.

"I sure did. I made my first one when I was eight," he said with a prideful glow.

"That's amazing! I had one too, but I didn't make mine. It was a birthday gift from my parents when I turned ten. I had it for about a year, until...well...when my parents were arrested, my house was burnt to the ground, and my solar surfer went with it." Jim's brow knitted with empathy. The feeling he had when he saw the Benbow enveloped in flames was still a somewhat fresh wound.

"I'm sorry." Ophelia brought her knees to her chest.

"I'm fine, you have nothing to be sorry for." He raised an eyebrow, noticing just how vaunerable she seemed at the moment. The appearance was emphasized by the fact that his jacket was a little too big for her, leaving the sleeves to fall past her hands. She sighed. "So, is there anything I can teach you, or are you just master mechanic?" she asked playfully.

"I think i know how everything works. Honsetly, I just want to take it for a ride." Ophelia chuckled.

"Sorry, no can do. We need permission to leave the docking bay with a skiff."

"Oh Well." Ophelia thought for a moment, then an idea came to her, lighting up her emerald eyes.

"Jim, you head up to the shrouds, I'll meet you up there in a moment!" With that, she jumped out of the long boat, and ran up the stairs to the deck. Jim watched her, a puzzled eyebrow raised. He wasn't sure why he was supposed to meet her in the shrouds, but he made his way up anyway. Ophelia went down to the crew's quarters, and scanned the roo. She smiled when she spotted what she was looking for. It was an old stringed instrument leaning against the back corner of the room. She grabbed it, and plucked a couple of the strings, grimmacing at how out of tune the cold had pushed the notes. She went back up to the deck, and found Jim in the shrouds. Jim looked over at her as she climbed up to join him.

"What are you doing with that?"

"Just give me a minute." He watched as she plucked the strings and fiddled with the pegs. The pitch of each string slid sharp and flat until she could find the correct pitch, the tip of her tongue peeking past her lips as she concentrated. "There," she said, as she tuned the last string. She rolled up the sleeves of Jim's jacket, exposing her arms to the cold. "Alright, I haven't practiced for a while, so this may not be that great, but just bare with me. This is a song a friend of my father's taught me."

"Alright." She began strumming chords on the instrument, and Jim watched, his blue eyes focused on her.

_"I am a question to the world, not an answer to be heard, all a moment, that's held in your arms." _The words poured from her mouth smoothly, and beautifully. Jim was almost surprised, not having pegged her as a singer. _"And what do you think you'd ever say? I won't listen anyway. You don't know me, and I'll never be what you want me to be. And what do you think you'd understand, I'm a boy, no, I'm a man. You can take me, and throw me away. And how can you learn what's never shown, yeah you stand here on your own. You don't know me, cause I'm not here." _Ophelia began to strum more passionately, closing her eyes, her voice getting slightly deeper with elation. A grin creeped its way on to Jim's lips. "_And I want a moment to be real. I wanna touch things I don't feel. Wanna hold on, and feel I belong. And how can the world want me to change, they're the ones that stay the same. They don't know me, cause I'm not here." _Her strumming calmed again, and she opened her eyes, a smile on her lips as she looked at Jim. "_You see the things they never see, all you wanted I could be. Now you know me, and I'm not afraid. And I want to tell you who I am, can you help me be a man? They can't break me as long as I know who I am." _Again, the song rose to a high point, however, it took on an almost melencholy tone. _"They can't tell me who to be, cause I'm not what they see. Yeah the world is still sleeping while I keep on dreaming for me. And their words are just whispers and lies that I'll never believe." _The vivacity returned, and Ophelia moved with the music, grinning as she sang. _"And I want a moment to be real. Wanna touch things I don't feel. Wanna hold on, and feel I belong. And how can they say I never change, they're the ones that stay the sam. I'm the one now, cause I'm still her. I'm still here. Yeah I'm still here. I'm still here..." _Her voice faded down, followed shortly be the instrument. They both just grinned for a moment, laughing.

"Wow, that was...it was..." Jim was left speechless.

"I thought I heard ya Ophelia. It's been a good while since I heard ya last." The two looked down and saw Silver looking up at them. "Why don't the two of yas come down to the galley so we can here some tales?" Ophelia's grin grew wider.

"Alright! Come on Jim!" She scrambbled down the shrouds, and Silver chuckled.

"Wait, what are we doing?" Jim asked as he descended from the shrouds, more calmly than Ophelia had.

"Tha's right, Jimbo's never been on a ship before. He's never heard spacers weave their tales." A look of fascination crossed Jim's features.

"Come on Jim, you're gonna love it!" Opheleia insisted, grabbing his hand and dragging him to the galley. The benches were already taken by the rest of the crew, so they made themselves comfortable on the stairs. The two listened as wide eyed wonderers as the crew members took turns telling their stories, each more exciting than the next. By the time darkness had fallen, and all they had for light was the flickering fire lamps, it was Silver's turn. Before he began, Ophelia heated up, and spiced some purp juice to make purp cider for Jim and herself to fend off the cold. Jim smiled as he took the steaming mug.

"Thanks. This is great." She nodded, taking a sip of her cider.

"Just wait until you here Silver's stories, they're always the best." She sat beside Jim, and pressed against him as mush as she could for warmth. Jim was surprised for a moment, glancing down at her with his blue eyes. He smiled, and returned his focus to Silver as morph settled on his shoulder. Silver began to weave tales of great beasts, fierce battles, marvelous galaxies, and grand adventures. He used his cyborg arm to cast shadows on the wall that helped to add effect to his stories As Ophelia had said, his were the best of the night. By the time everybody was finally heading down to the sleeping quarters, Jim and Ophelia were exhausted, but content. As they laid down, ready for sleep to take them, Ophelia looked over at Jim in the next bunk over, eyelids only half open. "Hey Jim?"

"Hm?" he grunted, his eyes already completely closed.

"This has been the best day I've had in a long time...thanks..." as she spoke, her words became muddled as she fell to sleep, but Jim could still make them out. He smiled, opening one of his eyes slightly, watching as her breathing became slow and steady.

"Thank you too..."


End file.
